Trollope: A Biography

by N. John Hall

Anthony Trollope was a giant of Victorian letters whose works are still read avidly today. Now, in what is surely the definitive biography, the world's leading expert on Trollope provides an amusing, insightful, and authoritative portrait of this remarkable figure.
N. John Hall writes with an unparalleled knowledge of his subject--he is already the general editor of the 62-volume Selected Works of Anthony Trollope , and the editor of Letters of Anthony Trollope , which Victoria Glendinning (herself a Trollopian) suggested in The Spectator "already
constitutes a biography by other means" simply by virtue of its "brilliant footnotes." In this volume, Hall draws on Trollope's works themselves, as well as all pertinent historical evidence, and interweaves Trollope's public and social life--as a civil servant, devoted hunter, and extensive
traveler--with lucid accounts of his writing.
Starting with Trollope's early days on the family farm and at the famous Harrow School (studying with Byron's former tutor), we learn of Trollope's marriage, his politics (Hall calls him a "conservative liberal"), his career at the Post Office, and his last decade (which gets full treatment,
although many have ignored it). We trace his initial attempts at writing (his first three novels were resounding failures), and follow his eventual popular success (beginning with The Warden and Barchester Towers --the latter of which, Hall shows, boasts Trollope's rich comic dialogue and
distinctive characterization). In Hall's telling, Trollope's life almost approaches that of his novels, as when we watch him swoop down into a small village on his horse to interview the surprised residents about their mail service. (Trollope once claimed that his life's ambition was "to cover the
country with rural letter carriers.")
Trollope's legendary prolific output--nearly seventy books in a thirty-five year career--attests to the rigor of his writing schedule. Every morning, he would produce a certain number of words (recording his output in a ledger he devised for the purpose), and then head off to work. To
increase his efficiency he took to writing on trains (for which he designed a special writing tablet), and later had carpenters build him desks in his steamer cabins during ocean crossings. And, as Hall points out, Trollope was not simply a prodigious writer, but also more of a scholar than has
been recognized. Nevertheless, his genius lay especially in his comic sensibility, and in the care and judgment of his writing (despite the fact that he almost never rewrote a line).
Hall's complex, but sharply focused, narrative portrays this daunting figure in vivid detail, combining humor with subtle insight into a mysterious personality. Those who have enjoyed the Barsetshire chronicles or the Palliser novels, and who want to know more about one of the greats of
19th-century literature, will be richly rewarded by this comprehensive biography.

Genres: Biography

616 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Georgie-who-is-Sarah-Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Massive, magisterial and extremely readable. Hall knows everything there is to know about Trollope's life; he shakes it out, folds it neatly and presents it attractively. There is something a little old-fashioned about his approach that suits his subject well.

I had a dream the other night that I was Trollope, writing a book called Can She Count?

He had told her in every marriage there was one who counted the pennies and one who spent the pounds and that it behoved her to think carefully which she was to be. And she thought carefully but it did not seem to her it was necessary to choose.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally finished it. Took me months, but I read other books in between.

I am very interested in Trollope and trying to read all 47 novels (31 down, 16 to go). I'll think about reading his other works later: "... five volumes of collected short stories, plus a handful of uncollected stories; four large travel books and the slight Mastiffs; three biographies, four collections of 'sketches' (hunting types, clergymen, travellers, tradesmen, an unpublished book of social criticism (The New Zealander), enough essays and reviews to fill three or four more volumes." p. 506

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found it very readable and learned a lot about Trollope.

[Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The singular biography of the great Victorian writer.

[Phil Atteberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read (and re-read) many Anthony Trollope novels over the decades. I love his work. However, until now, I have never read a full biography of him. This one, published in 1991, is excellent. It is not a "thesis" biography in that it does not pursue a particular slant or angle on Trollope's life or his work. It simply tries to summarize his busy life, his connections, and put his work in context. That's a big job, but Hall does it well. He discusses Trollope's books, but he does not (for the most part) subject them to literary analysis; rather, he works to put them in their historical and biographical context. I found that particularly helpful.

I have mentioned before that Trollope is a difficult subject because he wrote so voluminously--47 novels, six volumes of short stories, three biographies, four long travel books, and various other things. Even the most committed Trollope fans haven't come close to reading it all. However, in order to enjoy this biography, one needs to be really interested in Trollope and have read enough of his work to understand his style and his thematic preoccupations. Anyone who meets those criteria will enjoy this book.